There’s lots of online chatter over what Apple may or may not announce at this weeks Apple Expo in Paris. No matter what is launched, there’s no doubt Apple knows how to excite its fans. I love these leaked pictures, for instance, of a supposed all-in-one Apple computer that were again supposedly secretly taken in a Paris elevator.
Rumors are that Apple will be launching a replacement for the iMac that has the computer built-in behind the display. It kind of looks like there’s a fold-out stand that the computer rests on. Not quite a Tablet PC, but they’re getting closer 🙂
What particularly caught my attention though, was this comment on why the new low-end model won’t include an optical drive:
“…one of the reasons for the decision not to include an optical drive on the educational model is to not only keep prices down, but to fulfill a request by many schools not to include the drive. Some schools have told Apple that they have experienced increased security problems from having optical drives in their Macs. Many schools have deliberately locked down their optical drives to prevent sharing and copying of copyrighted material.”
Hey! After all the concern over many Tablet PCs not having an optical drive, it looks like Apple’s going that direction too–and proudly. My guess is Apple will be more successful at making the case though. With the right infrastructure for distributing content (music, movies, new programs), the importance of the optical drive decreases. Apple has demonstrated with iPod and its music delivery service that it understands what people want to do. I, for instance, don’t really want 500 CDs (or 100 DVDs for that matter) stacked up in my cabinet. I just want painless, reliable access to my movies, software, e-Books, and so on. My prediction is that the optical drive will go the way of the 8-inch floppy as delivery and ad-hoc exchange networking improves. Whoever builds this out will get the nod from the customers, whether it’s Apple, Microsoft or Google.